Display table



M. RAND DISPLAY TABLE Filed Jul July 27, 1965 FIGS 1N VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent M 3,197,255 DEPLAY TABLE Morris Rand, Boston, Mass, assignor to Associates, line, Boston, Mass. Filed Italy 27, 1962, Ser. No. 212,959? 4 Qlainis. Cl. 312-4493) The present invention relates to knockdown, traytop, display tables which are particularly useful for retail display of merchandise. The tables of this invention are extremely sturdy when assembled, yet may be rapidly and efficiently disassembled for storage or transportation. The tables can be easily set up or knocked down Without the use of specialize mechanical skills or tools.

Numerous types of collapsible and knock down tables are particularly useful for employment for short periods of time and subsequent storage or transportation. Such tables often require the use of tools, such as screwdrivers, wrenches, plier, etc, or relatively complex folding mechanisms to setup or knock down.

Accordingly it is an important object of this invention to provide a novel knockdown table which is easily disassembled or setup for storage or usage as desired.

it is another object of this invention to provide a table in accordance with the preceding object which is highly compact when disassembled yet offers maximum display areas when setup.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a table in accordance with the preceding objects which is relatively inexpensive to construct and economical to assemble and disassemble.

it is still a further object of this invention to provide tables in accordance with the preceding objects which may be compactly stacked and stored when disassembled.

According to the invention the knockdown display table comprises a base having a substantially planar mounting board. A display tray is positioned above and spaced from the mounting board. Two spaced substantially parallel upright sidewalls extend between the mounting board and the display tray. Upright standards project above the level of the display tray and pass through the tray to the mounting board. Both the mounting board and the display tray have cutout portions which are aligned with each other for slidably receiving the upright standards. The standards function to strengthen the table support and in addition provide for the mounting of additional shelving directly above the display tray. The base, display tray and sidewalls are joined together by fastening devices which may be easily assembled and disassembled. Preferably a bracing wall extends between and at right angles to each of the sidewalls adding rigidity and support to the display table. In one embodiment of the invention the display tray is dimensioned so as to receive and store all other elements.

Other features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a knockdown table of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view thereof taken through line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side-sectional view taken through line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a fastener useful in the table of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side cross sectional view of an alternate embodiment of this invention, and,

l 6. 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view showing a detail of another alternate embodiment of the invention.

With reference now to the drawings and particularly ddldlidd Patented July 2?, 1965 FIGS. 1-3, a preferred form of a table is indicated generally at It The display table comprises four basic sections, i.e., a mounting base 12, sidewalls l9 and Zll, upper display tray 11, and upright standards 13.

The mounting base 12 has a substantially planar rectangular mounting board 22 lying in a horizontal plane. The mounting board 22 is supported by four rectangularly arranged baseboards with front and rear baseboards 23 integrally afiixed to sideboards 43. These boards may be conventional 2 x 4s or other heavy wood or metal boards. Preferably two sets of boards 29 lie parallel to side boards 43 and extend from the front board to the rear board of the mounting base. The boards 29 add additional support to the mounting board 22. The boards 29 are positioned on either side of standard receiving cutout portions 42 of the mounting board. Thus, an opening is formed by a cutout portion and the space between each set of boards 29 (FIG. 2) which is adapted to snugly and slidably receive an upright standard 1.3. Each standard employed in the table of this invention is received in a corresponding cutout portion 42 which conforms to the outer perimeter of the standard and coacts with the boards 29 to prevent swaying of the standards. Preferably the mounting board 22 is afiixed to the front and rear baseboards 23 by conventional screwing, gluing, etc. As best seen in FIG. 2, side edges of sideboards 43 extend slightly beyond the side edges of the mounting board 22 thereby providing a flat surface on which sidewalls of the table are mounted.

Sidewalls 19 and 2d are preferably arranged at either end of the mounting board and attached thereto by means of removable wedge fastening devices of the type shown generally at 32 inFIG. 4, as will be more carfully described. The sidewalls 19 and 2d are preferably composed of inch thick planar rectangular plywood panels positioned parallel to each other and provide a side enclosing means for the table it The sidewalls support the upper display tray 11 and positively prevent rotation or movement of the tray 11 in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the table it The display tray 11 has a flat substantially horizontal, rectangular pegboard base member 41. Preferably the base member 41 has a length equal to the length of the mounting board 22 and a width slightly larger than the width of the mounting board 22 so that front and rear edges of the base member 41 extend beyond the front and rear sides of the mounting board 22 as most clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. For example, the mounting board 22 may comprise a /2 inch thick pegboard having a length of 5 feet and a width of 4 feet while the base member it may comprise a /2 inch thick pegboard of a similar type having a length of 5 feet and a width of 4 /2 feet. Rectangularly arranged front and rear boards l7, l8, and Sideboards 15, 16, form a peripheral rim about the baseboard 41. Preferably as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the peripheral boards are fixedly attached to the baseboard 41 by a force fit of the edges of the member 41 into a planar groove extending completely about the inner side of the rim formed by the boards 15, 16, 117, and 18. Other attachment means may be employed as desired, such as gluing, screwing, bolting etc.

Preferably one inch by four inch wooden boards 49, 53, 54 and 55' are fixed to the underside of the member 41 thereby strengthening the member 41 and facilitating mounting of the sidewalls l9 and 29. These boards are best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 and comprise tray sideboards 49 positioned parallel to each other on either side of the table and fixedly attached to a downwardly extending lip 50 of the display tray rim. Front and rear parallel strengthening boards 55 are fixedly attached to an under surface of base member 41 and are attached n, Ca

at their ends to tray Sideboards 4% Strengthening boards 53 and 5 are provided parallel to boards 55 and extending between tray sideboards 49 and are fixedly attached thereto and to the under surface of member 41. The boards 53 and 54 define a space therein between lying directly below cutout standard receiving portions 52 of member 41 adapted to snugly and slidably receive upright standards 13, as will be more fully described.

Preferably partitioning members or panels, 24, 25, 26 and 27 form a separating means for the display area of the display tray 11. Partitioning member 24 comprises a rectangular panel extending along the central axis of the table and is dimensioned so as to have ends abutting standards 13. The abutting ends of partitioning member 24 add further strength to the standards 13 and tend to prevent movement in a plane drawn through the central axis of the table. Sets of partitioning panels, 25, 25 and 27 extend at a right angle to panel 24 and abut both the panel 24 and front and rear boards of the display tray, as clearly shown in FIG. 1. Preferably the panels 24, 25, 26 and 27 are individual thin plywood members and are removably pegged to the base member 4-1 by conventional means. The partitioning means can be easily removed from the table member 41 and stacked therein.

Preferably two parallel hollow rectangular cross-section, metallic standards 13 are slidably positioned and extend perpendicular to the member 41 passing through cutout portions 52 and 42 and resting on the ground below the table. Rectangular cross section steel standards 13 are preferred since they provide fiat surfaces for abutting partitioning panel 24, boards 53, 54 and 29 thereby tending to prevent swaying of the display tray with relation to the mounting base 12. Preferably aluminum standards 13 are used having parallel mounting slots 31 extending intermittently throughout their length.

lorizontal display boards or shelves 14 are mounted on front and rear sides of the standards 13 as best seen in FIG. 1. Preferably the boards 14 have conventional flat, parallel hook means and are adapted to be removably secured to the standards by the use of slots 31. Any conventional mounting means may be employed if desired. Preferably, two sets of parallel spaced boards 14 are mounted on the standards 13. However the standards may be extended in height and additional shelves mounted thereon at preselected intervals. In addition to providing display areas the shelves act to maintain standards 13 in parallel alignment, in turn causing the standards 13 to prevent movement of tray 11 with respect to mounting base 12 in the plane of the standards. Thus the table is braced in the plane of the sidewalls and the plane of the standards perpendicular to the sidewalls 19 and 2t Weight carried by the shelves 14 is mainly supported by the standards 13 and not the table since the standards directly contact the ground in the preferred embodiment. Further, the fact that shelves 14 are preferably mounted in planar relationship on either sides of the standards allows for balancing of loads and prevention of arcuately directed forces in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the standards.

In the preferred form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, parallel, rectangular equal sized separation panels 21 and 53 are removably mounted in vertically arranged U-shaped notches 69 and 59 respectively, formed in side walls 19, 29 and mounting board 22 and boards 53 and 54. The notches 59 and d9 form a continuous groove into which the panels 53 and 21 respectively may be 1 tted. The separation panels 21 and 58 preferably divide the mounting board 22 into two equal, separate compartments for storage or display of retail merchandise. in some embodiments of the invention, the eparation panel 21, or 58, or both, may be eliminated z}. to provide a single compartment above the mounting board 22. Aside from their function as separators, the panels 231 and 52 race the side walls 19 and 20 and further aid in strengthening the table.

Preferably removable wedge fastening devices of the type shown generally at 32 in FIG. 4 are employed to maintain the table in its set up position. Each fastening device 32 has a male insert bracket 33 and a female locking plate 37. The insert bracket 33 has wing portions 65 adapted to receive screws firmly anchoring the bracket on a component to be joined. A U-shaped hood 34 has a wedge shaped notch 35. The hood 34 is preferably tapered from a wide end at notch 35 and thereby is adapted to slidably receive a locking wedge 61. A cutout portion 35 is'provided in the hood 34 to reduce frictional engagement of the wedge and hood. The locking plate 37 comprises a right angle flange 38 adapted to be afiixed to a component of the table by conventional screw means. A rectangular cutout is formed in the flange and adapted to snugly receive an outer portion or" the hood 34 as shown in dotted outline in FIG. 4. Components such as side wall 28 and mounting boar- 22 are linked together by moving the hood 34 and fixedly attached side wall 2% so that the hood 34 is in the position shown in dotted outline in FIG. 4, whereupon the wedge 63. may be inserted by hand through the slot 35 firmly locking the side wall and mounting board in position. The components may be disassembled by merely planing at the narrow end of wedge s1, by hand or in some cases applying a slight tapping pressure [0 the narrow end to remove the wedge. In some cases it is'preferred to provide a hole 39 in the wider end of the wedge facilitating removal of the wedge by a hook-line tool. Preferably six wedge fastening devices 32 are used to fasten each body side wall to the tray side boards 49 and mounting board 22. However, the number of wedge fastening devices used may be varied depending upon the size and dimensions of the table 10.

The use of the wedge fastening device enables the table to be disassembled or set up rapidly by unskilled workers without the use of a specialized tools. For example the mounting base 12 is first layed down on an area where the table is to be assembled. Bottom edges of side boards 19 and 26 are then fastened to the mounting board and separator panels 21 and 53 slide into corresponding notches tl and 5%. The display tray 11 is then mounted on the side panels and separator panels by the use of wedge fastening devices 32. Subsequently the partitioning boards are removably positioned on member 41, standards 13 are inserted through cutout portions 52 and 42 and horizontal display boards 14 are removably attached to the standards. Disassembly of the table may be rapidly accomplished by reversing the above described procedure.

The particular dimension of the display table of this invention may vary considerably. In one embodiment of the invention, it is preferred that the overall height of standards 13 be less than the overall length of the table between side boards 15 and 1e. It is further preferred that the height of the display trayrim formed by side boards 15, 1d, 17 and 18, be greater than the combined thickness of the mounting base, body side walls, separator panels, standards and partitions. In this em bodiment the length of the tray rim boards 17 and 1S, and consequently tray 11 is extended slightly so as to allow storage of base 12 within the display tray 11. When the display tray 11 is so dimensioned, all the components of the table may easily be disassembled and placed within the display tray 11. This feature enables compact storage or transportation of the table as a substantially rectangular unit. Moreover, a plurality of tables may be stacked in a neat compact area having a height equal to the number of tables times the height of the rim formed by boards 15, 16, 17 and 18.

An alternate embodiment of the table of this inven- 3! tion is designated generally at 65 in FIG. 5. The table 65 is constructed generally in the same manner as table 11 with wedge fastening devices 32 removably attaching sidewalls 19 and 20 to display tray 11 and base 12. In this embodiment separator panel 21 is placed at the rear of the table and forms an enclosing backing. The tray 11 overhangs the base 12 and the mounting board 22 overhangs base board 23 on one side of the table. In this embodiment of the invention the standards 13 and shelves 14 may be eliminated, however, it is preferred to employ them in the same manner as shown in FIG. 1. A further alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated at FIG. 6 where a table is formed in the same manner as table 10. However, side boards 43 are eliminated and sidewalls 19 and 20 are extended to replace boards 43 and touch the ground. This modification provides for fewer components and enhance the sturdiness of the table.

It is evident that those skilled in the art may now make numerous modifications of and departures from the specific embodiments described herein. Consequently, the invention is to be construed as limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. In a display table capable of being easily set up or knocked down,

a mounting base adapted to rest on the ground and having a planar mounting board afiixed thereto,

first and second cutout portions defined by said mounting board surrounding and slidably and snugly receive first and second rectangular cross sectioned, vertical-spaced standards,

a display tray extending above and substantially parallel to said mounting board and defining first and second cutout portions slidably receiving first and K second vertical standards with said first and second cut-up portions of said display tray being in alignment with said first and second mounting board cutout portions respectively,

first and second spaced sidewalls extending substantially parallel to each other and perpendicular to said base and said tray,

said sidewalls removably afiixed to said base and tray by a plurality of fastening means,

said fastening means comprising a male insert bracket engaged with a locking plate by a removable wedge,

said first and second vertical standards each having a lower end resting on the ground and portions thereof mounted in said first and second base and tray receiving cutout portions with upper portions extending above said tray,

two sets of parallel shelves extending between and affixed to said standards at said upper portions,

21 substantially vertically extending separating panel abutting and extending between said sidewalls and said base and tray,

whereby said standards and panel prevent swaying of said table in a first direction and said sidewalls prevent swaying of said table in a second direction perpendicular to said first direction.

2. A knockdown dsiplay table comprising a mounting base having a planar mounting board afiixed thereto,

means forming first and second cut-out portions in said mounting board for surrounding and slidably and snugly receiving first and second vertically extending spaced standards,

a display tray extending above and substantially parallel to said mounting board,

said display tray defining first and second cutout portions therein for surrounding and slidably receiving said first and second vertical standards with said receiving cutout portions in said tray being positioned in vertical alignment with said cutout portions in said board,

first and second sidewalls extending parallel to each other and removably aflixed at lower portions thereof to said mounting base and at upper portions thereof to said display tray,

said first and second vertical standards lying coplanar to each other in a plane substantially perpendicular to said sidewalls and each having a lower portion substantially resting on the ground with other portions mounted in said base and tray cutout portions and an upper portion extending above said display tray,

display means removably attached to said upper portions of said vertical standards whereby display and storage areas are provided by said table on said mounting base, said tray, and spaced above said tray with said standards and sidewalls cooperating to support said table.

3. A knockdown display table in accordance with claim 2 wherein substantially vertically extending separating panel abuts said sidewalls and extends between said base and tray substantially perpendicular to said sidewalls.

4. A knockdown display table in accordance with claim 3 wherein said first and second sidewalls are removably afiixed to said base and tray by a plurality of wedge action fastening means and said sidewalls extend below said mounting board providing a lower edge resting on the ground.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 325,644 9/85 Arbenz 312257 X 1,099,980 6/14 Hooey 312-1402 1,411,765 4/22 Worthington 312-257 X 1,930,111 10/33 Sargent 312-140 X 2,056,078 9/36 Slater 108-107 X 2,626,198 1/53 Vanderveld 312--257 X 2,710,241 6/55 Lieberman 312-257 2,971,805 2/61 Weiss 312108 3,004,814 10/61 Schulze 312-1403 X 3,066,774 12/62 Dahme 108-108 X FOREIGN PATENTS 206,057 4/55 Australia.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A DISPLAY TABLE CAPABLE TO REST ON THE GROUND AND OR KNOCKED DOWN, A MOUNTING BASE ADAPTED TO REST ON THE GROUND AND HAVING A PLANAR MOUNTING BOARD AFFIXED THERETO, FIRST AND SECOND CUTOUT PORTIONS DEFINED BY SAID MOUNTING BOARD SURROUNDING AND SLIDABLY AND SNUGLY RECEIVE FIRST AND SECOND RECTANGULAR CROSS SECTIONED, VERTICAL SPACED STANDARDS, A DISPLAY TRAY EXTENDING ABOVE AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID MOUNTING BOARD AND DEFINING FIRST AND SECOND CUOUT PORTIONS BOARD AND DEFINING FIRST AND SECOND VERTICAL STANDARDS WITH SAID FIRST AND AND SECOND CUT-UP PORTIONS OF SIAD DISPLAY TRAY BEING IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND MOUNTING BOARD CUTOUT PORTIONS RESPECTIVELY, FIRST AND SECOND SPACED SIDEWALLS EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND PERPENDICULAR TO SAID BASE AND SAID TRAY, SAID SIDEWALLS REMOVABLY AFFIXED TO SAID BASE AND TRAY BY A PLURALITY OF FASTENING MEANS, 